Jay Trucks and Associates Legal Blog

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Auto No Fault

Michigan's "No Fault" statute was created to provide greater certainty of payment and restrict litigation by placing the risk of certain losses from automobile accidents on the vehicle’s owner.

Placing the responsibility on the vehicle owner

You are accountable to insure your own vehicle and its contents against damage caused by an accident. If you elect not to provide insurance for your vehicle, even if you are not at any fault in an accident, you limit your recovery options. If the other driver is insured, you can only recover a few hundred dollars under the mini-tort statute, MCL 600.3135(3)(e). This is where the “No Fault" term comes from. You are held responsible for some costs without reference to whose fault the accident is.

Recovery of medical costs, lost wages

Along these same lines, your medical costs, lost wages, and rehabilitation will usually be paid by your own no fault policy, or by the policy of the owner of the car in which you were a passenger. Basically, most of your financial losses will be covered by your insurance company. However, you can file suit against the driver who caused the accident for reasons such as pain and suffering and extreme financial loss in the event that you suffer a serious injury. A serious injury is subject to interpretation by the courts.

If you have been in an accident and want to understand your rights under Michigan law, please contact Jay Trucks and Associates, PC at 1-800-762-8623.

posted by Blog Administrator at 3:39 PM

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